


Present Perfect

by mermaidforeachother



Category: Free!
Genre: Festivals, Fluff, Fortune Telling, Gen, Haruka sucks at festival games, M/M, Middle School, Palm Reading, Pre-Relationship, makoto has it bad for haruka, surprisingly unbullshitted palmistry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-11
Updated: 2015-06-11
Packaged: 2018-04-03 21:10:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4115086
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mermaidforeachother/pseuds/mermaidforeachother
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Haruka thinks Makoto will just be wasting his money going to a fortune teller at the festival, but Makoto is curious about the supposed psychic who specializes in love readings.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Present Perfect

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to my beautiful beta, Shinx, for doing a great job fixing my mysteriously abundant spacing errors, and thanks to Kam for some really cute ideas for the end!

The evening was warm and slightly humid, a pleasant breeze snaking around the figures of the bustling crowds, bringing the mixed scents of sweet and savory snack foods cooking on the wind. It was nearing twilight, the sun having mostly set, but the sky was still desperately hanging onto the last slivers of the sun's rays, painting the gentle, fluffy clouds an array of pinks and purples.

The summer festival went on the same time every year, making the locals buzz with excitement and break out their best skills to win game prizes. Children and adults alike wore yukata in many colors, a rainbow of cotton kimono and obi streaking the streets of Iwatobi. Though plenty of people, Makoto noted, like he and Haru, still preferred their regular summer clothes.

In shorts and a t-shirt, he was plenty comfortable in the warm summer weather, and Haruka was opting to wear a white and navy blue striped tank top with shorts. The pair of them were meandering around the festival, gazing at the bright colors of the lanterns and lights strung up around the different food and game stalls.

Haruka, Makoto noticed, had already begun to tan from their walking around earlier in the day, the lines peeking out under his tank top being decidedly lighter than the smooth caramel tone that had begun to develop on his exposed skin. Makoto turned his head away and shrugged a little to himself, it wouldn't matter much in a few days, as soon as Haruka found water to play in, off his clothes would go and the sun would even out the lines with or without sunblock.

Haruka looked at Makoto beside him, head tilted questioningly, "Hm? What is it?"

"Nothing important," the brunet replied breezily, head nodding towards the boy walking beside him, "you just forgot to put sunblock on today."

His friend looked at him with an expression that said, "So?"

"You forgot it, too," Haruka stated as he pointed to the color forming on Makoto's own face and arms.

Makoto fought down a blush, "I used sunscreen! I just forgot to reapply it." he admitted, somewhat sheepishly.

"And yet," his dark haired friend replied, "You're still alive."

Makoto couldn't help but smile at the nearly sarcastic response. To some, the words would sound almost scathing, but Makoto perfectly understood the meaning behind them. Simple things like that were such a non-issue for Haruka, and he thought it admirable.  Even if he did get a sunburn, he probably wouldn't complain, just casually spread aloe on it until it healed, or until Makoto himself had to take the bottle from him so he could apply it to the spots Haruka couldn't reach. Silently being stubborn was something Haruka was almost as good at as he was at swimming, so Makoto considered it his place as his best friend to loosen up that stubbornness a little bit and help him when he refused to ask for help.

"What's that look for?"

"Nothing!" Makoto said in a singsong voice. The raven haired boy raised his eyebrows skeptically, before deciding it was probably better not to ask.

"Never mind, it's probably something silly."

"Maybe." Makoto agreed, his grin widening.

"Although," Haruka began. "What?" asked Makoto.

"Maybe," the raven headed boy continued, “I should bring sunscreen next time. If you're out much longer, you'll begin to freckle."

"H-Hey now!"

"In fact,” he looked beside him intently at the brunet's shoulder, feigning an inspection, “I think I can see some now."

"What!?" His friend exclaimed, one of his hands zooming up to clutch the surveyed shoulder self-consciously, only realizing when he grasped cotton instead of skin, that there was no way Haruka could have actually seen whether freckles were forming or not.

Haruka smirked, ocean blue eyes twinkling in mischief. His expression made Makoto's eyes widen in disbelief at being tricked like that before he began to laugh in spite of himself.

"Okay, you got me!"

His companion said nothing, but continued to smile silently.

The pair walked around the festival avenue together contentedly, occasionally stopping to play a game or buy a snack. Never once did one wander very far from the other. Most of the booths and stands were typically decorated with banners and lights, the fronts open to the public, but on one of their passes, Makoto spotted a curtained booth which looked more like a small tent, really, tucked away between a takoyaki stand and a goldfish scoop stand. The young teen drifted towards it curiously, attempting to read the sign posted outside the curtained entrance.

"Madame Miyuki's Magic Readings: Authentic Psychic Palm and Tarot Readings"

Haruka turned and followed him, watching him read the sign up close.

"Those things are always fake, you know."

The sandy-haired teen looked at the sign thoughtfully, "I don't know, Haru, I've heard about her from some girls in class. Apparently Madame Miyuki is popular amongst the middle schoolers lately. She has a shop somewhere in town."

"Popularity doesn't mean much," Haruka said, disinterestedly.

"Oh, I know, but it could still be fun! Do you want to get your fortune read with me, Haru?"

The other teen looked at the sign, frowning, and then scoffed, practically turning his nose up at the idea. "It's a scam, they only ever tell you things you already know", he said, eyes narrowed and voice rife with distrust. He looked straight at his friend, "And Makoto's already like a window; she'll be taking your money and running."

The brunet shrugged and scratched the nape of his neck, "I don't really mind if it is a scam or not, I still think it'll be fun. Besides, it’s not much money to begin with? You could still come with me to get my fortune if you want. It shouldn't take very long since there's not a line."

The dark haired teen eyed the size of the tent dubiously. "Even if I did, there's not any room for two people," he complained, "She could have just had a regular stand."

Ever the peacekeeper, the brunet held his hands up in front of himself in a placating gesture, "I think the tent is supposed to set a mystical mood."

"If she was going for mystical, she missed that and skipped straight to 'shady and ominous' "

Makoto started, "H-Haru! Don't say that, you make it sound like she's going to mug me!"

"She won't need to, you're already giving your money away."

The brunet leveled him with a somewhat exasperated expression, “That's what you do when you buy a service, Haru!"

"Whatever” he concedes without any heat to his voice. "I can't fit, so I'll be next door." He pointed to the goldfish scoop stand to the right of the irritably tiny tent, the bright lights overhead illuminating the shallow tank holding the goldfish, swimming around in shimmers of orange and white.

Makoto smirked slyly, “Now who's going to get mugged?"

Haruka crossed arms in defiance, "Still you." he insisted stubbornly, the frown on his face being as close to a pout as Makoto had ever seen on him.  

"Whatever you say, Haru." he said with mirth.

The teen began to turn to walk into the tent, but stopped when he realized that Haruka did not seem to be moving over to the goldfish stand like he said he was going to. He pursed his lips and looked at his friend, scrutinizing. Haruka glanced towards the- in his opinion-ominous tent and then looked back towards the sandy haired boy, a question written in his eyes.

Makoto's eyes widened in understanding as he looked towards the somewhat foreboding stall, and smiled gently, before reassuring his friend, “It's fine, Haru! It's not actually scary at all!"

With one last look towards the brunet, Haruka nodded silently and walked over to the goldfish game.

Exhaling a tense breath, the young teen made his way towards the fortune teller's booth. Even though he'd said there was nothing scary about the booth, now that he was faced with it as the last vestiges of sunlight faded from the sky, the curtained entrance appeared even darker, and it made him somewhat hesitant to go inside, but he'd already made such a fuss about getting his fortune told that he wasn't going to back out. He silently told himself that there was nothing about the darkness itself that could hurt him and made his way forward.

Makoto parted the thick curtains with his hands as he entered, and was pleasantly surprised by the sight which greeted him. The tiny enclosure seemed gloomy from the outside, but the interior had cheerfully colored fairy lights strung up inside of it, and smelled heavily like vanilla, which reminded him of freshly baked cookies. While the walls were predictably bare other than the lights twinkling softly, there was a single small table with a white lacy tablecloth in the pattern of small flowers. On top of the table was what Makoto supposed the standard crystal ball looked like, as well as a set of tarot cards lying face down, their backs patterned with intricate swirls. There wasn't much room to move around, as the apparent size suggested, and the teen was left somewhat confused as to what he should do, since there didn't seem to be anyone attending the stand at the moment.  

Shuffling awkwardly, he was trying to decide whether or not to leave, when the back of the tent rustled. Makoto jumped a little in surprise, as a woman stepped in through the back. She wore a long dark robe over her surprisingly normal looking clothes- he was half expecting an old lady in a garish costume, but the woman in front of him wore a simple outfit of a light pink button up blouse and a knee length mint colored skirt which flowed freely around her, swishing as she took the scant amount of steps towards the table and sat down. She wore a necklace with different colored crystals that Makoto couldn't begin to identify, but thought was rather pretty.

"Sorry!" she said, tucking dark brown hair behind her ears, and lightly shaking out wrinkles from the long sleeves of her robe, "I was just finishing my break, but I knew you'd be coming, so I hurried back."

"I… you knew I was coming?!" Makoto's voice cracked as it raised higher in astonishment. He still did not move from his spot in front of the entrance, he felt glued in that position. "You really are psychic then?!" Nervousness itched at him, could she tell what he was thinking? Did she know about that time he snuck extra cookies for dessert last week?

"Well, yes," the woman responded, amused, "or I wouldn't have a very good business. But I didn't predict that you'd be here, my powers do not go that far. I heard you and your friend from around the back."

The brunet looked at the ground, embarrassed at having been overheard, and when Haru was saying such rude things about her booth, too!

"I...uh...-"

"It's fine, it's fine!" she enthused, waving a hand in front of her face nonchalantly, "I get that all the time, and people are right to be skeptical.  It seems like fake psychics are a dime a dozen. Those people just don't respect the practice of divination like I do." she winked and smiled at Makoto kindly, then gestured with her hand for him to come forward. "Now, come and sit down, please!"

His body finally jerked into action, feet lurching him forward. When he sat down in the chair, it was embarrassingly loud. He'd landed heavier than he would have liked, making the seat unbalance slightly and clatter and creak in protest of his rough treatment.

Madame Miyuki chuckled at his flustered actions and smiled warmly. When she smiled, it made it impossible to determine her age- she could be 25 or 45 for all he knew.

"What would you like me to divine for you?"

"Uh...just what you usually do…?" His hesitant answer was stated more like a question, and he realized that he hadn't actually thought too deeply about the different types of fortune telling.

"There are several things I can do", she began, "I do mostly tarot readings for young ladies worried about their love lives, but I also do palm and aura readings, and the occasional séance.”

That caught his attention, unfortunately.

"S-Séances?! You mean ghosts, right?  You summon ghosts?! There aren't any here right now, right?!"

"Oh heavens no!" Madame Miyuki reassured him, "There's no way I would be able to conduct a séance without the proper materials, and besides, it's not quite summoning ghosts, it’s more like…using emotions to bridge the gap between the here  and there to ask spirits questions. They know far more than we can begin to as living beings. In the end, it's more like a telephone call, really."

Makoto only felt slightly reassured by the psychic's explanation. 'Telephone call' or not, just the thought of there being ghosts around made the hair on the back of his neck stand up, even though he believed her when she said that there weren't any around.

He shifted in his seat a little, gripping the edges of it hard with his hands, resisting the urge to cross them over his chest defensively.  He wished Haru were there, he was always a protective presence when Makoto was scared. He privately thought that Haruka could scare away any ghost or monster just by staring at it.

Sensing the soured mood, Madame Miyuki hurried to change the subject.

"Have you decided what you want done?”

"Whatever is simplest to do, please?  My friend is still waiting for me."

"In that case, the quickest type of readings are the palm readings. It doesn't require any energy to complete, unlike the other processes, so it's fast and simple."

"That then! That's fine!"

"That'll be 500 yen, then."

He quickly dug his hand into the pocket of his shorts, pulling out the fee for the fortune before handing it to the fortune teller. She accepted the coins and placed them in a metal box by her feet. They made a clinking sound as they were dropped in.

"So, how exactly is it done?" asked the brunet.

"Just give me your hands, please. Palms up, of course!"

He did so, holding his hands open, hovering above the middle of the small table, as if waiting for something to be placed within them.

"Palm reading," Madam Miyuki began, "is hardly an exact science, but it is based off of certain patterns found on the palms of humans. These patterns correlate with the elements, certain ruling celestial bodies, and of course, your life. This, in turn, tells us a bit about the owner of the hands, such as their personalities and potential. Just like everyone's hands are different, everyone's lives and fates are different, which is why people come to palm readers- for a shred of insight." She lightly grasped the wrist of his left hand.

"The left hand shows the potential you have. Meanwhile, "she said, grasping his right wrist with her other hand, "The right hand shows you what you have done with your potential thus far."

Makoto nodded, doing his best to follow along with explanation.

She continued on, "Each hand will have three or four main lines to read: at the top of the palm is the Heart Line, which speaks of love and your relationships with people, below that, across the middle of the palm is the Head Line; which represents your mental energy and how you think. The life Line is below that, typically around the meat of the thumb, and it tells you about your emotions and relationships outside of romance." She lightly traced the lines on the palm of his right hand as she told him about them. His fingers twitched at the gentle caress, and he fought the urge to pull his hand away and giggle- it tickled! Instead, he asked, "What's the fourth line?"

"The fourth line is the Fate Line, and depicts how strongly you are affected by fate - essentially- the events outside of your control. Not everybody has a fate line."

"Wow, that's a lot of information from a single hand!"

Madame Miyuki chuckled pleasantly, "There's actually more, but I'll keep it as short as possible so you can get back to your friend."

"What else is there?" At first, he'd been kind of uncomfortable with all the talk about ghosts and energy, but now he was finding it unexpectedly complicated and even interesting to hear about. As long as it didn't involve any spirits.

"Well," she kept hold of his right wrist, using her free hand to point out the other markers, "There are the mounts."

"Mounts?"

"Yes, these fleshy bits beneath your fingers. The first is around the thumb- Venus- then, under the index finger is Jupiter, the middle finger is Saturn, the ring finger is the Sun, and under your pinky finger is the Mercury mount."

"What do they do, ma'am?"

"They don't do anything, per say. They give additional information about their owners which, if you'll cup your hand a bit," Makoto did as he was asked, and the psychic studied his hand closely for a moment, “-they aren't too relevant to our reading. Usually the different sizes would tell about your predilections towards things like forgetfulness, greed, emotional selfishness, and whatnot. However, your mounts seem to be mostly positive, " she went on, "a nice balance between family and friends, hardworking,  emotionally open, etcetera,  etcetera...." she trailed off, "The only thing I really see is that you're a bit of a worrier. If you're not careful, you can end up suffering while trying to care for other people more than yourself."

Makoto flushed and tried not to look so obviously in agreement with her assessment. The older woman looked up at his guilty expression, and said wryly, "At least you're self-aware."

"It's not really something I can help, sometimes.  If it's within my power to help someone, I can't just...not help?"

The woman patted his hand gently, "You don't have to explain yourself to me. You just have to take care of yourself." She then continued with her inspection of his hands telling him the information gleaned along the way, "You have soft hands, which indicates sensitivity,  though in some cases,  it just means someone uses lotion." she said this more to herself than Makoto, as if in the middle of a private joke. "Next up, hand and nail shape."

"My nails?"

"You would not believe how many times I get that question." she smiled lightly, clearly amused, "Yes," she stated, "even the shape of the fingernails is important. Almost everything is in one way or another, because everything is a tiny piece of the whole, and only by first looking at the individual parts, will you come to understand the entire being."

Makoto's eyes widened and the teen sat up in his seat a little straighter, impressed by her thoughtful speech.

"Wow!" he breathed out, lowly, "That's really...." he searched for a word, "-…really wise!"

"Thank you!" she preened a little, and then fixed her expression into one more business-like to continue the reading.

Madame Miyuki had Makoto flip his hand over, and examined the shape of his fingernails, "Your nail beds are quite long, which means that you're kind - hearted and people can trust you to keep their secrets. Having an almond shape like you do means that you're sweet and diplomatic; always willing to stop a fight and work things out another way. You're popular in your own ways, even though you don't always realize it." she looked at him firmly, stopping the protest that was about to spill from his lips.

"Now," she said, flipping his hand palm-up once more, "your fingers are in equal length to your palm, which is nice and broad. This is what is called an Earth Hand in Palmistry. It means essentially what it sounds like- you're connected to the element of earth and that determines a bit of your personality." Makoto nodded along, he did like taking care of the potted plants in his room.

"Earth handed people are steadfast and reliable, being good at doing things with their hands- though this doesn't necessarily mean artistic ability- that is usually closer tied to Water Hands. It also indicates a sense of stubbornness, which manifests in many different ways. You have a steady energy and solid values, which is soothing to many people. Additionally, " she cut herself off with a light snort, "-additionally,  you're more comfortable with the tangible in life- the things you can see and feel for sure, rather than accepting the spiritual side of things."

"Yeah," Makoto agreed somewhat sullenly, "Ghosts and monsters are terrifying."

"That's what people like me are here for; so that others don't have to be afraid of the unknown."

Unsure of what to actually say, but not wanting to be rude, the teen replied with a hesitant, "...Thank you?"

"You're welcome." she said simply.

"Now," she let go of his wrists briefly, wiping her hands clean of sweat on the sides of her robe, "onto your actual palm lines."

"Okay, I'm ready."

"Don't worry, it's unlikely to be anything bad. Palmistry is not meant to predict the future, after all, but to give insight into what is already there."

Makoto let out a breath, he could take learning about his personality second-hand, but he didn't actually want to know about the future. It felt uncomfortably like he would be risking the chance of messing something up if he knew.

"So, I'm going to do this from the bottom up. As all the best parts are at the top." she said conspiratorially. "Give me your left hand, please."

He did, and she looked at it for a long moment before starting to speak, "Your life line swoops around the Venus mount in a semi-circle," she said, tracing the half-moon shape from the edge of his palm to his wrist, "This means you will have strength and enthusiasm present in your familial relationships and friendships, there are no aberrations, so your relationships should remain strong as long as you keep being yourself."

Next, she traced a faint line up the middle of Makoto's palm, through the life line.

"You have a fate line on your left hand, which means that there are some events which are out of your control completely- things that are fated to happen or not happen, people you must or must not meet. It goes through your life line which tells us that whatever is left for you to do, your family and friends will support you. It's faint, so there are not many events left, as fate will not have much more control over you."

The brunet breathed slowly, shaking off any potential nervousness from forming. He didn't enjoy the thought of being controlled by fate, and didn't really want to think about whether something he did was of his own choice or something that was out of his control, but he guessed, if he thought of it in a more romantic light, it would be nice to have people he was fated to know and be friends with.

By the time he escaped from his musings, Madame Miyuki was already halfway through her reading of the next line.

"-and these crosses here, they indicate an important decision or decisions that you will have to make eventually. Potentially life changing ones. They are faint, however, so it appears to still be a long way off..."

He nodded once more, feeling like a bobble head at this point, much more silent than he'd typically be, but he'd decided to take her words seriously since she'd been so upfront with him and done her best to make him comfortable during the process.

"Finally," she said with glee, "We have the heart line! I specialize in love readings, so, this is always my favorite part!" she shifted in her chair, getting comfortable, before telling the brunet about his heart line.

"It begins below your index finger- you'll be content in your love life. Your heart line is deep and somewhat wavy. This means that you will love very deeply and be able to express your feelings freely. A lack of crosses through your heart line means that your partners will likely be few, and a lack of circles means that you are unlikely to experience divorce or great heartbreak."

"Circles and crosses...This is starting to sound like Tic Tac Toe." mused the teen.

Miyuki laughed and agreed.

"So, is that it?" he ventured.

"For this hand? Yes. You have a lot of potential, and I think you will live up to it. Your right hand will tell us how you're doing with that so far."

Makoto quickly handed her his right hand, conscious of how much time the reading had already taken. Despite the protests he would be sure to make if asked, Makoto knew that Haruka be worried if he stayed in the tent much longer. He didn't want his best friend to think he'd actually been mugged by a psychic!

Madame Miyuki took ahold of his right hand and read it somewhat quicker than the first, since she need not expound upon the process.

"Your life line is much the same- you have strong relationships with your friends and family at the moment. However, your fate line is stronger on this hand, and does not run through your life line. It's very telling. You have been deeply affected by fate thus far, but it is not something that you have needed support in. Likely, you have met certain people that fate has determined you should.” She looked up at him briefly, "You are either very lucky or very special to have such positive palms, young man."

Continuing on, she told him that his head line was much the same as on his left hand, but with the lack of the crosses, indicating "momentous decisions". When she got to his heart line she paused for a second.

"It says here, you have contentment in your love life. Now, this could mean you simply aren't looking for anyone at the moment, but your heart line is not wavy, which leads me to believe that you do love someone, but cannot or will not express your emotions towards them."

The brunet froze up, and self-consciously closed his hand into a fist, as if to hide the words she had just said.

"Ah, so that's correct. " she let go of his wrist for the final time, before leaning back in her chair, gazing at Makoto with critical eyes which were trained to recognize all the signs of being hopelessly in love.

"That is! I mean - I can't- er, well, I mean I'm not!-" stuttered Makoto, helplessly floundering as he tried to deny it. There was just no way! Or at least no way he could say it out loud. He could feel his face burn from his neck all the way to the tips of his ears, and just knew there was no way he could hide it.

"You can't lie, and that's alright. Now that I look at it, your aura is too pink to be a coincidence.  Let's be honest with each other: you're utterly in love, aren't you?" the older woman leaned forward and rested her elbows on the table, lacing her fingers together and setting her chin upon them, looking at Makoto expectantly.

"I don't know! There's loving someone and then being in love with someone. Wanting someone to always be happy, and wanting to always be one of the people that makes them happy, well, those are feelings between just friends, too, right?" He flung his arms out in erratic movements as he spoke, attempting to narrate what he was trying to communicate.

"Hm, you're certainly right about that. Sometimes those kinds of feelings happen when two people are just really close, and then sometimes they happen because two people are in love. What you have to ask is which sort of love you feel. I think we both know that you've already answered that question for yourself." she looked at him sympathetically, as he avoided her eyes.

"I can't make them go away, I've already tried." he admitted lowly, a look of shame crossing his face.    

Miyuki's eyes widened in shock. Poor kid. She witnessed all different kinds of customers walking into her shop to ask about their love lives, futures, or whether their spouse was cheating on them or not, so she was no stranger to the wide array of emotions that love could make one feel. Still, to see someone with such a shining, pink, aura have an expression so saddened and be seemingly ashamed of their feelings was highly out of place. The muddying of the swirls green, pink, yellow, and blue, broke her heart a little bit.

"Now, why would you ever want to do such a thing?" she asked.

"It's....something...-I've known them a long time," he started hesitantly, “It feels like I'm...breaking their trust by feeling like that about them. It's just not...right after so long being close, to want to be even closer, to hold hands and it mean something different for me, to want to k-kiss them, sometimes, too...I just-" he hid his face in his hands, speaking through them, voice muffled, "I'm so selfish!"

"Hey, now! What's this?" Madame Miyuki leaned forward and gently poked a hand covering his face, so as to not startle him. He pulled them away slowly, looking down at his lap. She clicked her tongue in sympathy when she saw that his eyes were shining, tears threatening to spill out should there be any further emotional strain.

"I want things to be the way they were before- before I felt this way about hi-them."

Miyuki pretended not to notice the slip up in pronouns, having already guessed who the young boy was talking about. His aura was the brightest when he had just entered the makeshift shop, obviously being very connected to the person he was with moments before.

Makoto continued on, less unsure about sharing with the fortune teller, but still careful to keep the information about who he was talking about to a minimum. It wouldn't feel right to share a lot of personal details about Haruka without him being there to give permission.

"It's not fair to my friend, for me to feel this way. I'm sure it's not the same for them, and to talk about it would be the same as pushing my feelings onto them, when things are fine as they are- I'm fine as they are, I'm fine."

"Are you?" asked the psychic and part time love doctor.

He didn't answer her, so she kept talking, "You're still really young, I think it's best to accept your feelings and enjoy them for what they are. You don't always have to act on them right away- everything comes into its own when it's meant to- and forcing yourself to feel or not feel things just because you think that's what's supposed to happen, will only ever get your feelings hurt. Do you understand? "

"I'm not entirely sure. I don't know how to accept my feelings and still keep our friendship the same. I want...things, but I want to stay friends more, but I like them so much it hurts sometimes. Other times, I'm fine, and everything is the same as usual - we hang out, we play video games,  they stay over for dinner- everything is good- until stupid, tiny, things happen, like the sunlight shining on them just the right way, or I say something that makes them smile- and my heart goes crazy. It's worse than walking into a haunted house! I like it, I like them but it's so scary and I can't hide behind them from my own feelings."

The sandy haired teen knew he was rambling now, but there weren't enough words in the world to describe the way he felt about Haruka. Even what he'd already said about the sunlight and his smile seemed pathetically inaccurate compared to the real thing. Haruka was set aglow when the sun hit him, his skin seemingly absorbing it until it leaked out from his own pores, radiating light until all eyes were on him.

He knew that the raven haired boy didn't like too much attention,  but Makoto couldn't help but be one of his admirers,  when even the sun was made out to be like a spotlight,  focusing its shine on him and drawing Makoto's gaze whenever he dared to let himself look, really look, at his best friend.

His smiles were another story, and somehow even more blinding to him. When so sparingly given to begin with, they had become a precious gift through their years together, and Makoto delighted in being able to coax out a grin here, a smirk there, or a flash of his pearly whites as Haruka turned away to hide his happy expression.  Haruka's smile had always made him happy,  but now it struck him right in the chest every time and made his heart race so much he was sure he could die from it somehow,  and yet, he continued on, living for those smiles.

It wasn't even just those things, he'd think, when he allowed himself to, there wasn't a single thing about Haruka that he disliked. He worried over some aspects of his personality and safety, but deep in his heart, knew that even if thousands of Haruka - clones were made with the same exact specifications as the real one, he'd be able to point out the original every single time because there wasn't anyone - even clones- quite like the real Haruka, and Makoto would never trade any part of him in for one that worried him a little less.

"It sounds like you have it mostly figured out," the woman started, bringing him out of his reverie. "Relationships change and evolve. You can grow closer to someone or further away, just based on how you as a person change. That doesn't mean that they will disappear from your life, and it doesn't necessarily mean you will ever really grow apart, either. Grow up? Yes, that happens to everyone, but it seems like you two are so intricately woven together already. If it's you, you'll make it work. Accepting your feelings will just be the start of it, you'll see the bigger picture when all is said and done."

He opened his mouth, suddenly hesitant to speak again.

"I think...no, - I mean, I love them, but I don't want things to change right now. But-" he took a deep, steadying breath, "But, you're right, not everything can stay the same for long, and even so, I know that the way that I feel, love or like or in between or just as friends, the one thing that won't change is that I care about him." He laughed a little to himself. "I think even if we were in another universe, I would always care for him."

"So? What are you going to do?" asked the psychic,  a small, pleased smile on her face, duly noting that the boy had dropped the pretense of gender vagueness in his excitement without even realizing it. He had it bad.

"Nothing? Maybe everything? I was so worried about loving him, thinking it would make me lose him, that I kind of forgot that I've always loved him, one way or another. Though I think it'd be nice to-to kiss him, I don't need to do that for him to know he's important to me."

"That's good then! I wish you the best of luck, though I believe you won't need it. Your bond will not be so easily broken. Now go on and enjoy the rest of the festival!"

"Yes! Thank you very much." He bowed deeply towards after he rose from his seat, excited and calm at the same time, simply glad to have another small bit of himself figured out.

She bowed lightly in acknowledgement of his thanks and then shooed him out of the tented booth, the crystals of her necklace glimmering a little too brightly for it to simply be the lights hung to and fro, but Makoto didn't notice, preoccupied as he was with the previous topics he'd shared with the fortune teller.  The very cause of which was standing outside, waiting for him to appear from within.

Hearing the fabric rustle and the sound of Makoto's sandals scuffle the  grit of the dusty ground, the waiting boy turned around, a light frown on his face.

"You were in there a long time." he said, somewhat impatiently.

"I was, wasn't I? I'm sorry to keep you waiting, Haru-chan!"

The dark haired boy ignored the childish honorific that his friend insistently used with him in favor of giving the green-eyed teen a quick once over, reassuring himself of his best friend's continued health. It would be just like Makoto to well-meaningly pick something up for a fortune teller - even a fake one- and accidentally get cursed for real. Even though he was stronger and more stubborn, emotionally, than he appeared at first, if Haruka could circumvent anything afoul befalling the person closest to him, he would.

Satisfied with his assessment, Haruka brought his eyes back up to Makoto face, only to look away almost immediately,  unable to look directly into his bright, jewel - colored eyes for long without blushing.  Makoto was always so vibrant and easy to read, yet somehow tore through his defenses like they were a particularly pathetic looking wet paper bag, diving past every layer as quickly as Haruka himself could dive into water, and viewing Haruka's thoughts and emotions with simple understanding and affection.

When he thought it safe to look again, he did, his friend's face just as blindingly familiar and comfortable to him as always. The brunet was looking at him thoughtfully.

"What?" Haruka asked, a tinge of surliness to his tone.

"What did you win?

Haruka looked down at the stuffed animals clutched in his hands, two grey dolphins, joined together at the snout as if they were kissing. He showed them to Makoto.

"Wow! That's so cute, Haru! You didn't win that at the goldfish stand though, right?"

"Of course not. I got it at the duck booth."

"Really? You're really lucky then!"

"I guess I am." the raven haired boy replied, but he wasn't really talking about the dolphins.

He stretched his arm out, holding one of the dolphins, the back of the other facing Makoto.

"Here, you can have it."

"Are you sure, Haru?"

"Just take it, "he said, "It's fine because-"

Makoto grasped the dolphin offered to him and pulled, thinking Haru would let go of his side, instead, the two dolphins easily separated from one another, making Makoto gasp, "There's two!" before Haruka could finish his sentence.

The brunet amused himself for a moment, bringing the two stuffed dolphins close to one another, allowing the magnets in their snouts to cling together, making them "kiss."

The other teen didn't know whether to smile or frown at being ignored for a stuffed toy, however briefly, when the taller boy looked up from making the dolphins kiss, and gleefully said, "Thanks, Haru-chan!"

"You're welcome." he said simply, then, "Come on, it's almost time to go home."

"It is pretty dark, isn't it? I bet mom and dad have fireworks at home though! Do you want to stay for a little bit?"

"Sure."

They began walking again, close enough for their shoulders to brush one another.

After a minute, Haruka asked, "What did the fortune teller say?"

"Madame Miyuki? Oh, well, she said lots of things." he rubbed the back of his neck, "You were right about one thing, though, Haru; she told me things I already knew." He looked at his friend beside him meaningfully, but Haruka was gazing into the crowd, watching the different people as they walked by them. There were still many couples out and about, holding hands or sharing food with one another. When Haruka heard his friend's admission, he let out a small snort, "I told you so."

"Yeah, you did. But it wasn't a ripoff, she was really nice! What about you, Haru? You didn't win any fish?"

"No."

"Oh, but you won these dolphins, and they're just as nice! It's even better that they're something we can share, it was very nice of you to give me one!"

Haruka smiled at the rambling, not even bothering to tune it out like he sometimes does when caught up in his own thoughts.

They walked on in companionable silence, enjoying the last few minutes of their time at the festival, not being allowed out that late after dark without an adult with them.

"Do you want to get a snack before we go back to my house?" asked Makoto.

"I can't," said Haruka. "I don't have any money left."

The brunet looked at the boy beside him with great mirth. Trying not to laugh, he ventured, "Haru-chan, did you spend all your money at the goldfish booth?"

"No." Haruka replied, stubbornly, "I won the dolphins with my last hundred yen."

"Oh, I see then, that's much better. It was only almost all of your money instead of actually all of it. My bad!"

The shorter of the two boys leveled a glare at the taller one, which left him completely unfazed as he gave up trying not to laugh.

"It's fine! It's fine! Iruka-chan is very happy you won him!" Makoto waved the stuffed dolphin in front of Haruka's face, making it do a happy little dance.

"Iruka-chan?" asked Haruka

Makoto blushed, "It's not like we've gotten to know each other well enough for me to think of a better name yet!" he joked.

"I'm sure that he'll be very happy living with you."

"I bet he'll miss you though."

"I've known him for fifteen minutes."

"That could very well be fifteen stuffed-dolphin years. He's probably missing you horribly already, Haru."

The raven haired boy raised his eyebrows, what kind of ridiculous conversation had he gotten himself pulled into? It was fun though, so he didn't really want to stop.

"I shouldn't miss my opportunity to kiss him goodbye then." he stated.

"Exactly!" Makoto laughed out, still holding Iruka close to his friend's face.

His laughter came to an abrupt halt when Haruka actually closed his eyes, long lashes fluttering with the motion, and delicately leaned in to place a gentle kiss on the tip of the stuffed dolphin's snout, muttering a soft, "Good luck at Makoto's."

Makoto gulped and looked away, telling Haruka a quick "Thanks."

The silence went on for a not-quite-awkward minute, before the brunet spoke up once again.

"Hey Haru?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you want to see something neat?"

"Why not?"

"Okay. I need your hand for a minute."

Haruka silently gave his friend his right hand, they'd stopped walking now, standing almost at the end of the festival street, out of the way of the crowds of people still there, likely to party until everything was closed down and then go home and party more. He said nothing, but waited for Makoto to explain whatever trick he was going to do.

"You see, I was in the fortune telling tent so long because Madame Miyuki was explaining some things to me about how to read palms. Thankfully, it doesn't have much to do with any actual magic, just patterns."

He held Haruka's hand gently, cupping his own, slightly larger, hand under it.

"I didn't learn a lot, but there's these lines on the palm of the hand." he traced them out for Haruka to see as he said them, "Fate line, life line, head line, and heart line."

The brunet smiled and expounded upon their names, "She said that the fate line tells you how much you are controlled by fate, the life line tells you about your friends and family, the headline talks about all of your mental energy- how you think, I guess, and the heart line tells you about your love life."

"Do I have to pay you for this reading?"

Makoto laughed, "I'll consider Iruka-chan as an advanced payment, so you're good for one reading."

Haruka was kind of curious now, as much as he didn't really believe in psychics, it was kind of interesting, and Makoto's hands were pleasantly warm in the cooling temperature of the evening. "What does mine say?"

"Oh, well," Makoto blinked, his expression sheepish, "I don't really know, I only learned a little bit."

"It's okay," said Haruka, "I didn't actually pay you, so I can't consider it a rip off."

"Well, I'll see if there's anything I recognize anyway."

Makoto pulled his friend's hand closer to him, gazing carefully at it in the dim light at the edge of the festival.  After a moment of concentration, his eyes brightened.

"Aha! I do see something!  You have the same kind of heart line as me, see?"

He laid out his own right hand, palm facing upwards, to compare it with Haruka's.  

"Yours starts under the index finger, and so does mine, we match!"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

That question startled the other teen out of his state of personal preening, and then he realized that telling Haruka the actual meaning of the line could open a can of worms, but he didn't have time to think of an alternative meaning, and wouldn't have felt comfortable lying to his best friend to begin with. Instead, he stumbled with his words, "It ah...I - it means, that, well, she ah, said that it sort of means something like...that you have contentment in your love life?"

The boy with the blue eyes shifted their gaze towards his and Makoto's hands, still palms up next to each other. Indeed, the lines were eerily similar looking. Somehow, he was less surprised about that, and more surprised that in the fourteen years of his life, he'd never once noticed that.  He moved his hand and placed his palm over top of Makoto's curiously.  The brunet's hand was slightly bigger than his in every way, and sure to only grow bigger as its owner did. Regardless, he stared at their touching hands and said, "We match."

Makoto curled his fingers up into the palm of Haruka's hand, the other boy following suit, their fingers curling together, becoming hooked on one another. It was a somewhat awkward way to hold hands, but it was warm and intimate,  each person having to move their hand at nearly the same time for it to work, and in that way, it was only fitting- after all, they worked best as a team.

The brunet smiled at his best friend, the boy he was in love with, eyes soft and caring. Haruka gazed back, a small smile on the edge of his lips, threatening to overtake them completely. Makoto's earlier worries were all but gone, something which became smaller over the course of his talk with Madame Miyuki, and now they were folded up neatly and put away for the time being. Right now, he wanted to enjoy the warmth between them, and bask in the dazzling feelings that the person in front of him could create in him. His fingers tingled where they touched Haruka's, and Makoto silently wondered if he could feel it too, or perhaps feel Makoto's heartbeat pound through his fingertips.

There were a lot of words on the tip of his tongue, but they were words best saved for another day, somewhere in the future. Instead, he whispered with wonderment and blazing affection, "Yeah, we match."

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!


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